The West is using the Iranian threat to scare the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated in an interview published on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 29.
In the interview, the Foreign Minister expounded on his views on a number of topics. Asked about the prospects of saving the JCPOA with Iran, he replied that "Russian diplomacy has never been prone to defeatism."
Prospects on the JCPOA
Lavrov went on to state that the treaty had been "fully operational" until the US unilaterally and suddenly withdrew from it, in his view.
Lavrov further accused the US and European countries of trying to destabilise the internal political situation in Iran. Calling the Iranian drone deliveries to Russia "alleged", Lavrov added: "They [the US and Europe] switched into their usual highly likely mode and were unable to produce any evidence. If fact, they did not even try." There is "no reasonable alternative to the JCPOA," he concluded.
Negotiations with Ukraine
Lavrov also reiterated Moscow's stance on the prospects of negotiating the end of the war in Ukraine. Asked if he saw a possible partner for negotiations in Ukraine, Lavrov proceeded to call the Ukrainian politicians "outright russophobes."
Russian president Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov attend the Libya summit in Berlin, Germany, January 19, 2020 (credit: HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/REUTERS)He further claimed that Russia had been approached by Zelensky for negotiations shorty after the start of the war and didn't decline the offer, but the Ukrainians at the instructions of the "Anglo-Saxons" had "abruptly stopped the talks."
About the possibility of withdrawals from conquered territory or the payment of reparations, Lavrov said that Russia would "not discuss conditions of this kind with anyone."
